Workout Group Put up or shut up

[Scribe]

I am down 58 pounds to 184 since Jan. 1. My workout plan consists of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu three times a week, Judo two times a week, and lap swimming once a week. Sometimes I slack off and miss a class or two. The workout routine isn't much different than what I have been doing the past three years. The wife found some recipes and developed a meal plan using sparkpeople.com that had a great affect on me. Apparently I was eating so much crap before that my workout routine couldn't keep up with my food consumption.

[AronSora]

Hey, question

The only time I have to workout is early in the morning, like 6am when the gym opens, that means I need to be up by 5am. Could a few of you who want to start this insane challenge with me host a conference call every morning. Do you think that's a good idea?

[brianward81]

Originally Posted by AronSora

Hey, question

The only time I have to workout is early in the morning, like 6am when the gym opens, that means I need to be up by 5am. Could a few of you who want to start this insane challenge with me host a conference call every morning. Do you think that's a good idea?

I'm in the same boat - I used to go to the gym at least 3 times a week. Now I'm down to zero! Really want to get back into it so I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and start going to bed earlier to get to the gym first thing before work.

[marina]

I totaled my car last saturday, so my morning gym routine has been replaced by a 12 mile bike ride to the train and back every day. But when I had a car, I got up around 5am to go to the gym.

When I first switched to morning workouts, it was difficult to get and keep my pace, but after a week I was right back to where I had been before, if not better. I didn't go every single morning right off the bat, I let myself sleep in when I was really totally beat, or if I'd had a late night the night before.

Since starting morning workouts, my insomnia is totally gone, my sleep feels more restful and I feel better and am more positive during the day. Basically, switching to morning workouts brought back the joy of working out that I had when I first started. I'm sure I'll fall into a routine eventually and will forget how much better I feel than I used to, but it's nice to feel excited about the gym again.

[Bucho]

Originally Posted by marina

I totaled my car last saturday, so my morning gym routine has been replaced by a 12 mile bike ride to the train and back every day. But when I had a car, I got up around 5am to go to the gym.

...

Since starting morning workouts, my insomnia is totally gone, my sleep feels more restful and I feel better and am more positive during the day. Basically, switching to morning workouts brought back the joy of working out that I had when I first started. I'm sure I'll fall into a routine eventually and will forget how much better I feel than I used to, but it's nice to feel excited about the gym again.

That's awesome Marina!

Actually, y'all are going awesome. Except you BW. You need to get back The Eye Of The Brian.

[Diamant]

Getting into my cross country pre-season training, right now I'm hitting around 55 miles per week, ideally I'll work my way up to around 75. Unfortunatly, after running, I never have energy to go work out, so I have no muscle mass.

[BrownEyedBtch]

Okay, I should know by now not to ask for advice on these forums, because I already know you will give it in spades. But I'm going to ask anyway.

For the last year, I had been a member of a gym. While my time there ebbed and flowed, I finally got into a routine I really liked. I would do 3-4 days a week for at least 1 hour each time. I would do 30-40 mins of elliptical (I always lost feeling in my left foot and could never do more than that) and then 30 mins of something else, usually combos of core, stretching, and weights. Sometimes I'd cap it off with an extra round of cardio.

Then the mighty hand of unemployment struck me down, and I had to give up my gym membership. Trust me, I feel like an incredible fat fuck without it. It has been about six weeks now. My diet is no better, contributing to the fat fuck feeling. This is what it was like before the gym, but after feeling good for so long, I feel even worse now.

I have never been a good runner. The last time I was a runner was in high school field hockey, and damaged my knee. However, since I cannot afford a gym membership, I want to take advantage of the neighborhood and the nearby high school gym track, since they're free. I have to rebuild my cardio strength again, but I know I can do it - I did it before. What I am hoping for is some advice on good beginning runner's workout plans. I don't want to do too much too fast, nor do I want to pussy out after the first workout. I want to safely ease into it and make things happen. I know swimmers condition by combinations of sprints and splits, so maybe runners do something similar?

Thank you for any advice you may have.

[Diamant]

Originally Posted by BrownEyedBtch

Okay, I should know by now not to ask for advice on these forums, because I already know you will give it in spades. But I'm going to ask anyway.

For the last year, I had been a member of a gym. While my time there ebbed and flowed, I finally got into a routine I really liked. I would do 3-4 days a week for at least 1 hour each time. I would do 30-40 mins of elliptical (I always lost feeling in my left foot and could never do more than that) and then 30 mins of something else, usually combos of core, stretching, and weights. Sometimes I'd cap it off with an extra round of cardio.

Then the mighty hand of unemployment struck me down, and I had to give up my gym membership. Trust me, I feel like an incredible fat fuck without it. It has been about six weeks now. My diet is no better, contributing to the fat fuck feeling. This is what it was like before the gym, but after feeling good for so long, I feel even worse now.

I have never been a good runner. The last time I was a runner was in high school field hockey, and damaged my knee. However, since I cannot afford a gym membership, I want to take advantage of the neighborhood and the nearby high school gym track, since they're free. I have to rebuild my cardio strength again, but I know I can do it - I did it before. What I am hoping for is some advice on good beginning runner's workout plans. I don't want to do too much too fast, nor do I want to pussy out after the first workout. I want to safely ease into it and make things happen. I know swimmers condition by combinations of sprints and splits, so maybe runners do something similar?

Thank you for any advice you may have.

If you're not a good runner right now, don't start with workouts on the track. You don't need to work on speed or anything like that right now, just build up some endurance. Go out and run for a pre-determined amount of time (maybe start with 20 minutes). Do that until it feels comfortable, then work your way up, adding on five or ten minutes when you feel ready. Once you can run for 30-40 minutes comfortably, maybe try a tempo run.
A tempo run is basically when you do a distance run at slower than race pace, but faster than normal pace. Basically, push the pace until you're uncomfortable, and keep going at that pace (but comfortable enough to pick it up). It should be shorter than the distance of your normal run.

IMO, track workouts aren't all that great unless you're planning on racing, and I hate running on a track when I could be running on streets.

That's just my two cents. Take it with a grain of salt, since it's been a while since I started running (started in 8th grade, I run cross country and track in college now). I'd love to hear some more/less experienced runners chime in too.

[marina]

Running on the street, track or beach is miles different from running on a machine. I don't know if you were reading the workout thread then, but when my elliptical broke and before I joined a gym, I tried to transition onto the street and was terribly disheartened at how little I was actually able to do. I'm sure that if I had continued, I could have built up my endurance. I joined a gym rather than trying to run the smoggy gross streets of LA everyday.

I know people who walk/run, they tend to be older and/or fatter than normal runners, but they're always in much better shape than they were before the walk/running.

Beginner Runners - How To Do The Run Walk Method

[DWarrior]

I'm not a runner, but maybe try Couch to 5k? You can probably advance 2 weeks or so since you've run on the elliptical before. At least it'll give you some idea of a progression.